Dec 15, 2006 04:48 PM
6364 Views
(Updated Apr 18, 2007 04:00 PM)
i bought a red swift vxi 7 months back..and i have had a whale of a time since then...
the first time I saw a swift while it was getting launched was in one of the malls, where it was being displayed as part of a road show....and I remember commenting to my wife at that point of time that it seemed to have very little space inside....accentuated perhaps by the dark upholstery that they used...in fact apart from the exteriors, which I couldn't help falling in love with, I don't recall being particularly happy with the space management that had been done...besides, the rear windscreen was small in size...resulting in restricted visibility of the world behind u....and the less said about the dicky, the better...all this contributed to my feeling that it isn't worth the buy for the price it was being quoted at...as a santro driver, (and I am proud of my santro) I didn't feel that there was anything extra that was on offer...
but then, I hadn't driven the vehicle at that point of time...
about eight months back when I decided to sell off my santro and go for a new car, my idea was to buy a bigger car which was fun to drive and which came within 5 lakhs...that automatically restricted my search to a ikon, a getz and a swift...unless of course I wanted to renew my partnership with a santro, that is...
while specs/features wise, I found swift to be offering a lot more than the rest, what kept bothering me were the initial thoughts that I had about this car....but then I thought to chuck these thoughts and do a test ride...
and man, what a drive it was....the moment I sat in the car, I felt like being enveloped on all sides as in a cockpit...the demo car was a zxi with lower profile tyres....and the drive was amazing....i couldn't resist hitting sixty on the second gear itself...so addictive was the vrroom that it generated from the engine...and as I settled in to a more stable pace later on, I found that inspite of its bigger size (compared to the santro that I drove), it was very nimble....and the best part was the confidence it exuded while changing lanes and overtaking at high speeds.....and the side rear view mirrors are just right for supporting such activities...the gear box is smooth...shifting gears is a breeze...though somewhat a bit tentative if u compare it to a santro...and a santro does come up trumps in this department....the controls and instruments cluster are well laid out...the steering is buttered up just right to bring you out of the most inextricable situations...and as far as the looks are concerned, I think it has a fantastic street presence...i mean just look at a swift from the front....u will know what I mean....it looks like a crouching panther waiting to spring to action....
no wonder I was sold on this car....
and I bought it soon enough from sai service, phoenix mills....i was reasonably satisfied with the entire purchase process over there...all in all, it wasn't a horror story as compared to some of the dealership experiences that I have read about in this forum...i had to haggle a lot for the freebies though....
till date, I have driven close to 10,000 kms...and this involved one long distance drive to Shirdi just after the monsoons when the roads were in a particularly bad condition..the suspension proved to be good enough for me as there were a lot of stretches where I simply zoomed through without much damage to the car and its occupants....all said and done, I can't expect a better suspension on a sub 5 lakh package...but having said that, I keep on getting distracted by the squeaks and rattles from the right wheel...i had fitted wheel discs and these seem to be the culprit...the service guys couldn't resolve the problem...they just kept on giving lame excuses..
one thing that I have not been particularly thrilled about in this car is the fuel efficiency...i drive a lot in the city, with ac, and in bombays' wretched traffic...can't get anything better than a 10...there r ppl who say they get a 12-13....just haven't figured out how I can get that....neways, there's no harm in keeping on trying...
since I drive a lot, I haven't had the chance of sitting in the rear seat with well endowed individuals to figure out the shoulder room there...but what I have figured out is that three ok size adults will just about fit in adequately over there...which also means that a long distance drive in the rear seat may not be optimal for the passengers in a house full situation...
dicky as I said is not that great...put in a big suitcase...and then there's pretty much nothing left over....unless u want to squeeze in some rucksacks and bags from the corners...
another point that should be noted is that while this car behaves like a lion on level ground, it loses some of its punch when it comes to tackling inclines....and you may find shifting right down to 1st gear a trifle disconcerting in these situations....
i wouldn't recount the features that u get in this car (i bought a vxi)...but what I felt was the vxi was a good value for money package...though I would have been happier if they had given a music player....
and as far as the car goes, here's my two cents.....never give the car keys to anybody...because the best place where u can appreciate this beauty for all that it is, is at the wheel...naturally my wife isn't amused...
